Kidnappers warn against rescue of Italians

TRIBESMAN who kidnapped five Italians warned the Yemeni government on Monday they would kill the captives if any attempt was made to free them by force.

The kidnapping of the Italians on Sunday was the fourth time in less than two months that Western tourists had been seized, sparking fears of a return to a wave of abductions that swept Yemen several years ago. Security forces and army units have surrounded the remote area in the mountainous Marib province where the kidnappers are believed to be holding the two Italian men and three women.”The troops are advancing in our direction, and we are just waiting,” one of the kidnappers, Obad Saleh al-Zaidi, told Reuters by telephone.”Once we see one soldier, we’ll kill all five Italians.”In the Yemeni capital, hundreds of people including artists and intellectuals marched to protest against the kidnappings.The government is determined to crack down on kidnappings to salvage impoverished Yemen’s tourism industry and economy.”Pressure is being brought on the kidnappers to safely release the hostages and we will adopt strict measures against them and bring them to justice,” a Yemeni government official told Reuters.While Yemen hopes to boost its tourism industry, attacks by al Qaeda-linked militants and kidnappings by disgruntled tribesmen have scared off many travellers.”The reasons (for kidnapping) are ignorance and greed,” Culture and Tourism Minister Khaled al-Rewayshan said on Al Jazeera television.”This phenomenon has emerged before and it has hurt tourism and Yemen’s reputation, and gives a false impression of Yemen”.Yemeni Prime Minister Abdul-Qader Bagammal vowed the government would strike kidnappers with an “iron hand”, echoing the tough line taken by President Ali Abdullah Saleh.KIDNAPPERS’ DEMAND The kidnappers have demanded that jailed members of their tribe be released to secure the Italians’ freedom.”Two of our people have been arrested by the government, and they’ve been detained for a year without trial,” Zaidi said.”And we don’t have any political contacts (to help get them freed).”Yemen’s deputy army chief of staff, Brigadier General Ali Mohammed, a seasoned hostage negotiator, took charge of talks with the kidnappers on Monday.The Italians were seized just a day after five German hostages were freed.”The tribesmen are upset that the government jailed an elder for a revenge killing.They said he should have been lauded, not imprisoned, for killing his father’s murderer,” Mohammed Radman, the Italians’ Yemeni driver, told Reuters.In Rome, Italy’s Foreign Ministry said Yemen’s interior minister had given an assurance that the authorities’ top priority was the safety of the hostages.The abductions of the Italians and Germans prompted the sacking of the governors and security chiefs of the largely lawless Yemeni provinces where the Westerners were captured.Scores of tourists and foreigners working in Yemen have been kidnapped over the last decade by tribesmen demanding better schools, roads and services, or the release of jailed relatives.Most hostages were released unharmed, but in 2000 a Norwegian diplomat was killed in crossfire and in 1998 four Westerners were killed during a botched army attempt to free them from Islamic militants who had seized 16 tourists.-Nampa-ReutersSecurity forces and army units have surrounded the remote area in the mountainous Marib province where the kidnappers are believed to be holding the two Italian men and three women.”The troops are advancing in our direction, and we are just waiting,” one of the kidnappers, Obad Saleh al-Zaidi, told Reuters by telephone.”Once we see one soldier, we’ll kill all five Italians.”In the Yemeni capital, hundreds of people including artists and intellectuals marched to protest against the kidnappings.The government is determined to crack down on kidnappings to salvage impoverished Yemen’s tourism industry and economy.”Pressure is being brought on the kidnappers to safely release the hostages and we will adopt strict measures against them and bring them to justice,” a Yemeni government official told Reuters.While Yemen hopes to boost its tourism industry, attacks by al Qaeda-linked militants and kidnappings by disgruntled tribesmen have scared off many travellers.”The reasons (for kidnapping) are ignorance and greed,” Culture and Tourism Minister Khaled al-Rewayshan said on Al Jazeera television.”This phenomenon has emerged before and it has hurt tourism and Yemen’s reputation, and gives a false impression of Yemen”.Yemeni Prime Minister Abdul-Qader Bagammal vowed the government would strike kidnappers with an “iron hand”, echoing the tough line taken by President Ali Abdullah Saleh.KIDNAPPERS’ DEMAND The kidnappers have demanded that jailed members of their tribe be released to secure the Italians’ freedom.”Two of our people have been arrested by the government, and they’ve been detained for a year without trial,” Zaidi said.”And we don’t have any political contacts (to help get them freed).”Yemen’s deputy army chief of staff, Brigadier General Ali Mohammed, a seasoned hostage negotiator, took charge of talks with the kidnappers on Monday.The Italians were seized just a day after five German hostages were freed.”The tribesmen are upset that the government jailed an elder for a revenge killing.They said he should have been lauded, not imprisoned, for killing his father’s murderer,” Mohammed Radman, the Italians’ Yemeni driver, told Reuters.In Rome, Italy’s Foreign Ministry said Yemen’s interior minister had given an assurance that the authorities’ top priority was the safety of the hostages.The abductions of the Italians and Germans prompted the sacking of the governors and security chiefs of the largely lawless Yemeni provinces where the Westerners were captured.Scores of tourists and foreigners working in Yemen have been kidnapped over the last decade by tribesmen demanding better schools, roads and services, or the release of jailed relatives.Most hostages were released unharmed, but in 2000 a Norwegian diplomat was killed in crossfire and in 1998 four Westerners were killed during a botched army attempt to free them from Islamic militants who had seized 16 tourists.-Nampa-Reuters